All The Fun Of The Fair (1/2) By Nick Quantrill Photographs by Darren Rogers

(1/2), (2/2).

Jimmy held his hand out to the old man lying in a bed of wet cardboard boxes. 'Help you up, there?' The old man took the hand. 'Good on you, son.' Jimmy took the strain and pulled. 'No problem. You might want to get your face looked at, though.' The old man took a tissue out of his pocket and wiped the blood from his nose. 'Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.' He laughed and wiped his hands on his trousers. 'So who are you, then?' 'Jimmy.' 'New around here?' 'First time.' 'Thought so.'

'Just got a job on the Ghost Train. I'm the guy who dresses up as a skeleton and jumps out at you near the end.' The old man held his hand out. 'All the fun of the fair, I suppose. Nice to meet you, son. I'm Derek.' The two men stood on the pavement, looking down Walton Street. From one end to the other, it was one heaving mass of people slowly making their way past the fast food and sweet stalls. Set off the main road was the attraction. As far as they could see, the lights and noises of the fairground rides dominated the cold night. From the retro and the innocent to the loud and cutting edge, the fair had something for everyone.

'Forty years I've travelled to this place' Derek said, touching his face. 'And this is what it's come to.' He kicked the fast food wrappers out from under his feet and started to walk through the crowd. 'I could tell you some stories, son.' Jimmy smiled and followed. They turned off the street and edged their way through the crowds and into the main fairground area. 'I'm getting too old for this business' the old man said.

'Did you get a good look at the kids who hit you?' Jimmy asked. 'Enough of a look. I tell you what, if I saw them again, I'd recognise them. That's for sure. You youngsters might all wear the same clothes and caps, but I'd recognise them. Don't you worry about that.' They walked deeper into the fair. The old man pointed to the darts stalls. 'Have you had a go on there? 'It's run by Sean and his family. Nice people. They've been travelling with the fair for years.''

Jimmy shook his head. 'Not yet.' He watched a punter have a go.

'Three darts, score over 21 and win a prize. Simple as that' the old man said. The final dart hit the board and fell to the floor. Jimmy watched and listened as Sean explained it was just bad luck. 'Is it rigged, then?' Jimmy asked. The old man laughed. 'That would be telling.' He waved to Sean and they carried on walking.

The deeper they went into the fair, the louder and more crowded it became. The fair-goers changed. The older people and young families on the street soaking up the atmosphere started to give way to gangs of teenagers, bustling around, looking for the next adrenalin fix. 'Daft buggers, the lot of them' the old man said. He pointed to the bungee jump. '£10 to be catapulted around with only the concrete to break your fall? Not for me, son. That's for your generation, not mine.' Jimmy smiled. It wasn't for him either.

Continued... Next Page (2/2)

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